The customer experience

I’ve lost count of the number of times one of my training students has commented that I clearly enjoy my job, and I always give the same answer. I tell them that when you’re training you’re working with people who need to believe that you care about helping them. So you’ve either got to care, or be very good at pretending that you care. Fortunately for me I don’t have to pretend

The problem is that if it appears you don’t care, even if you’re good at what you do, people will assume they are getting a third rate service and conclude they should have gone somewhere else. The customer’s perception of the quality of the service relies almost as much on confidence as it does on your technical ability. If your customer loses confidence in you they’ll start second guessing everything you do, and first chance they get they’ll go off in search of someone else who can instil confidence. Someone who appears to care

Today I was rummaging around YouTube, trying to find a video clip that encapsulated this principle. After trawling through an apparently endless collection of patronising drivel (most of them hotel-based) I eventually found this one. Quite simply it is excellent. So good in fact I don’t think I need to hammer home its message in any narrative. A picture paints a thousand words, so they say. This one may paint even more

One thing I will say is “give it time”. It is slow to build, but it is well worth the wait. It is a very, very good piece of work

Check it out and feel free to tell me what you think by leaving a comment

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Tags: customer experience, customer satisfaction, customer service, customer service video clip, good customer service

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 7:20 pm and is filed under Customer Relationships.
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12 Responses to “The customer experience”

January 22nd, 2010 at 4:51 pm
sayeed cassim says:

dear shaun

very touching and really very nice.

rgds
sayeed
January 22nd, 2010 at 5:39 pm
amybeth says:

As someone who recruits for a company that has a very large US retail force, I was delighted to read this post and watch the video. Customer service is SO important and I am so sad to see so many retail associates simply not care about their jobs. Thank you for posting this!
January 22nd, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Timothy Gravert says:

This was fantastic. It personalizes the single most important thing that we can all do or not do in sales. It is also a great example of how we can and will always find the most joy in doing good things for others. It is when we allow ourselves to see this that we not only prosper, but maintain our sometimes crumbling sanity. Two thumbs up on this long but wonderful add. I feel better having seen this.
Cheers,
Tim
January 22nd, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Lawrence Polsky says:

Great!!
January 22nd, 2010 at 7:32 pm
shaun says:

Thanks to everyone who has visited the blog enjoyed this post and especially Tim, Lawrence, Amybeth and Sayeem for commenting. Thanks too Amybeth for following me on Twitter

This one really has struck a cord
January 22nd, 2010 at 8:07 pm
Tom Napier says:

That was an excellent video Shaun… )

It shows the difference between going through the motions of your work and putting the effort into your career. It goes to show that customer satisfaction isn’t necessarily enough and what we must strive for Customer Delight!

Cheers,
Tom Napier
http://www.PSIengineering.com
(developers of document and fulfillment automation systems for SCM/N)
January 22nd, 2010 at 9:18 pm
shaun says:

When I posted a link to this on LinkedIn, in amongst all the positives, there was a remark that it took too long to make a point and that the message was limited to the last 90 seconds. Whilst I think that the clip does make a number of points in the last 90 seconds, to take the view that the preceding 5 minutes don’t make a worthwhile point itself misses a very important message that the clip makes very well (to me anyway).

That point is that the actual point of customer contact (in this case inside the shop) may be very fleeting and forgettable for the server, but it may have a much broader meaning for the customer and their life choices
January 23rd, 2010 at 11:58 pm
selcuk aytimur says:

The message comes at the last, but comes so strong..Without the preceding minutes, the message would not be so strong (It is the same when we try to deliver an important message during the training sessions..) The clip attempts to open all the possible communication channels we have before delivering what it aims…

Customer satisfaction…empathy I believe is very important. It helps one to understand how he/she and whatewer delivered are really is percieved by the other party; and this is an important factor on the quality level of the service delivered. I am known as a person who really enjoy his job (this is not a job actually for me, it is me!…) but when I indulge to much to what I do, then come complaints. People whom we serve we must never forget about. Without them, we do not exist whether we enjoy what we do or not…
January 24th, 2010 at 8:15 am
Paul Simpson says:

Shaun. Thanks for posting the link on LinkedIn. Like you I thought it was a great video with lots of ‘quality’ messages we can all relate to.

Note to self – need to understand the dreams and ’sell’ a route to achieving them.
January 24th, 2010 at 9:19 am
Shaun says:

Thanks Paul. It does what it does really well

Selcuk. I think you have understood the range of leaning points that are demonstrated here. It is not just a case of “don’t do it that way, do it this way instead” it applies an important context to it. That is, for the server the exchange is next to nothing. After 5 minutes it is forgotten, but for the customer it can make or ruin their entire day
January 25th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Lindsay Jackson Nichols says:

Fantastic video. Confirms for me that even outside of customer service and the relationship with customers, we all spend a great deal of time working and interacting with others, and need to find ways to enjoy it and make it worthwhile and ‘mutually’ rewarding and that will have a positive effect on all those relationships (customers, coworkers, suppliers etc). Didn’t the travel agent rep seem happier when she was engaged with the customer and getting the most out of her job?

Many thanks for posting !
January 26th, 2010 at 8:58 am
Shaun says:

Thanks for the comment Lindsay – and for the rec on LinkedIn